BWW Reviews: The Wind of Laughter in WIND AND THE WILLOWS

By: Apr. 25, 2015
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Photo: (left to right) Jordan Peterson, Leesa Williams, Eric Ellis
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I no longer have small children. However, in college, I was a member of a troupe that toured to elementary schools every fall. I know what it takes to keep the kids attention and the dedication it takes to create the characters.
The actors at Treasure Valley Children's Theater know their stuff. There is a difference between "over-acting" and "grand acting". These actors have the grand acting down to a 'T'. I could tell they were controlled. They exaggerated thier facial features and their emotions in a way that all the younger audience members knew what was going on with the story, even if they didn't really know the storyline.
I really enjoyed how they tried to keep the audinece members involved from entering the space. They had cutout creatures of the forest for the young audinence members to color and be a part of the participation later in the show. The audience was asked to help make the sounds of the animals of the forest. Shows for the younger audinece members, that involve them help evoke a love of theatre. I for one am greatful for TVCT bringing that about for our community.
The makeup was perfect for this production, just enough to hint at the animal characters they were supposed to be and not too much to hide their humanity. The costumes were all well done and fit each character, giving each actor something to work with.
All of the actors: Julia Bennett (Badger), Mike Cronen (Judge, Washerwoman, Engineer, Theif), Eric Ellis (Toad), Jordan Peterson (Rat), and Leesa Williams (Mole) had good clear voices. The audience members could hear every word and their singing voices were pleasant to listen to.

Pictured: (left to right) Eric Ellis (Toad), and Mike Cronen (Washerwoman)

If you live in the Treasure Valley and you have children- I would reccomend any of the shows Treasure Valley Children't Theater put on for young audiences. And if your child wants to learn theatre outside of school - they couldn't go wrong with Treasure Valley Youth Theater.


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